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Glossary of Notary Public, Mortgage, Signing Agent, and Loan Signing Terms.

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Common Terms 1   Common Terms 2

Wills

Phonetics: wills    \wĭls\

Function: noun

Notaries in most states should not notarize a will unless given specific instructions by an attorney and/or given notarial wording included in the document which could constitute an instruction to notarize in some states. Instructions from an attorney should be in writing too. It is not illegal to notarize a will, but it could be considered meaningless. Wills are traditionally witnessed by two witnesses. Witnessing laws could differ from state to state and many states allow a notary to be a witness in their official capacity as a notary public. Other people like to hire notaries to be a general witness as a lay person.

Definition 1:
A document that grants ownership of specified property to a grantee upon the grantor's death.

Definition 2:
Please keep in mind that a living will is very different from a regular will. A living will is a type of of a health care power of attorney, and powers of attorney are normally notarized with an acknowledged signature. Please keep in mind that notaries should not draft legal documents, and living wills are normally drafted by an attorney. I have notarized dozens of living wills and they can be more than forty pages in many cases.